Still Life with Song

ARTIST STATEMENT

“Stories are important to me… the ones we are immediately aware of and the ones that come through excavation.”

“Making” has been part of my life as far back as I can remember. From the childhood cobbling of my own shoes because of a fascination with some boots that Patsy Cline wore on an album cover through my costume making and knitting days as a young mother, resourceful creativity has felt as necessary as breathing. I incorporated this obsession with creating into a career as a hairstylist all the while nurturing thoughts of some other world that seemed to be forever waiting in the wings for more of my attention. With grown children, I decided in my early forties, to explore it full time. Since then, with self-direction and curiosity, art has been my day job. It remains an obsession!

Primarily a figurative painter, I like to work large scale and would describe my figures as being in a “state” rather than a “location”. The work has changed over the years but there are recurring aspects that have been present since the beginning. The use of metal leaf both in halos and background texture satisfies my love of the historical religious works that haunt my heart. Costume interests me, both for what it exposes and what it covers up. I continue to explore this through the work combining eras, or indulging in fantasy. Attention to hairstyles and head gear are important to me as well. Certainly I recognize that the tools are in my hands, however, I do feel as though the figures in the work show up with their own agenda. I am committed to honouring that.

I work three dimensionally as well and have created sculpture and textile works that have a feel of ceremony. Robes, shawls and banners embellished with embroidery became meditative works for me… a chance to plug into an artform from “ago”. Making plaster and paper mache vessels gives me an opportunity to immerse myself in a shape that has held things of value since the beginning of time.

Through these years of exploring, I began to pay close attention to how I experience the creative process. The different stages of bringing an idea to fruition and the feelings that accompany those stages. The stages became predictable and I have learned to trust that process. Out of this observation came a performance that I titled “Subplot”. It is a mythical theatre piece with the characters depicting each aspect of the creative process. This work combined my varied efforts of writing, producing, performing, 3D installation and costume making. I feel this piece has more to come and I hope to continue to workshop it to see how it plays out.

From the outside, perhaps each approach seems to be a departure from the others, but to me they are all in keeping with my intention to uncover and support the timeless stories found within the human condition.”

BIOGRAPHY

Born 1954 in Oshawa, Ontario now lives/works in Muskoka, Ontario. “Things that needed to be made”, have always intrigued Beverley. The art of making is a way of life for her, from knitting, embroidery, textiles, paper-mache, and even cobbling. She continued to develop her skills in a variety of mediums including sculpture, poetry, performance art and film.  Her work is primarily figurative multi-media on canvas, which can include a medley of paint, collage paper, charcoal and metal leaf, presenting a story left for the viewer to complete.